CD – Ici d’ailleurs

Geins’t Naït & L. Petitgand’s performances are mysterious and disturbing settings, imbued with melodic constructions and electronic layers, often dense with industrial references, overlaid with dreamy voices and cinematic arrangements. Here the post-industrial tensions of Geins’t Naït are joined by the gentle and musical arias of L. Petitgand. Petitgand is also a composer of soundtracks, collaborating with masters of cinema such as Wim Wenders and Paul Auster. Like This Maybe Or This is a perfect interweaving of these sensibilities, particularly successful when the passages become sweetened, poetic and rather melancholy. There are twelve tracks included in the album and the titles boast enigmatic, sibylline names, which do little to help us decipher even a narrative sense of the production. In no particular order, we enjoyed “Dustil”, “Naga”, “Aphro” and “22”, perhaps the most romantic and hybrid pieces, with measured electronics, together with harmonious interludes and digital shocks. Possibly the most representative of the pieces presented is the initial composition, “Shape of Stories”, which features captivating male vocals. Also noteworthy is the artwork by photographer Francis Meslet, who accentuates the sense of decay and nostalgia inherent in the duo’s scores. These are almost desolate landscapes that nonetheless express their own profound beauty, as in the cover photo, a shot of 2014 taken in Italy, which testifies to an abandoned asylum, a now unused archive. The release on the Ici d’ailleurs label, is featured in the Mind Travels Series, a collection in its tenth iteration. The interaction between the two artists is very fluid, unsurprising given that they have collaborated since the 1980s. Five years have passed since the release of “Je vous dis” for the same collection. Once more the duo was able to capture our attention, inviting listeners on an intoxicating journey.

 

Geins’t Naït & L.Petitgand – Like This Maybe Or This